Morris tribune., 1887-12-07
LINcoLN,s SPEECH AT GETTYSBURG

Private Notes and Memoranda - The
Speech Not Received with Favor.
A day or two before the dedication Of
the National cemetery at Gettysburg, Mr..
Lincoln told me that he would be ex-
pected to make speech on the occasion;
that he was extremely busy, with no time
for preparation, and that he greatly feared
he would not be able to acquit himself
with credit, much less to fill the measure
of public expectation. From his hat (the
usual receptacle of his private notes and
memoranda) he drew q page of foolscap,
closely written, which he read me, first
remarking that it was memorandum of
what he had intended to say. 1t proved
to be in substance, and think haec verba,
what was printed as his Gettysburg
speech.
After its delivery he expressed deep re-
greet that he had not prepared it with
greater care. He said to me on the stand,
Immediately after concluding the speech,
"Lamon, that speech won't scour! 1t is
o fiat failure, and the people are disap-
pointed" He seemed more than ordi-
narily concerned about what the people
would think of it. Twas deeply impressed
by his frank and regretful condemnation
Of the effort, and especially by his manner
of expressing that regret; and my own
impression was deepened by the fact that
the orator of the day, Mr.. Everett, and
Mr.. Seward both conceded with Mr.. Lin
coin in his unfavorable view Of its merits.
On the platform from which Mr.. Lin
coin had made his address, and onlya mo-
ment after its conclusion, Mr.. Seward
turned to Mr.. Everett and asked him
what he thought of the presidents speech.
Mr.. Everett replied: "1t was not what I
expected from him. I am disappointed. !"
In his turn Mr.. Everett asked: "What
do you think of it, Mr.. Seward?" The
response was: "He has made a failure,
and am sorry for it. His speech is not
equal to him" Mr.. Seward then turned
to me and asked: 'tMr. Marshal, what do
you think of it?" I answered.: 81 am
sorry to say that it does not impress me
as one Of his great speeches"
In the face of these facts it has been
repeatedly published that this speech was
received with great eclat by the audience;
that ''amid the tears, sobs and cheers it
produced in the excited throng, the orator
of the day, Mr.. Everett, turned impu1-
sively to Mr.. Lincoln, grasped his hand
and exclaimed: 4 congratulate you on
your successr adding in a transport Of
heated enthusiasm: 'AhI Mr.. President,
how gladly would I give my hundred
pages to be the author Of your twenty
lines.'n
All this unworthy gush, it is needless
to say, Is purely apocryphal. Nothing of
the kind occurred. AS matter of fact,
Mr.. Lincoln's great Gettysburg speech
fell on the vast audience like O wet
blanket. At that time his reputation was
confessedly on the wane. The politicians
Of the country-those of his own party,
together with large part Of the press
were casting about for en- available candi-
date to be his successor, while o great
majority Of the people were for him. I
state it as q fact, and without fear of con-
tradiction, that this famous Gettysburg
speech was not received or commented
upon with anything like hearty favor
by the people, the politicians or the press
Of the United States until after the
death of its author. Its marvellous per-
lection, its intrinsic excellence as master
piece Of English composition, seem to have
escaped the scrutiny of the most scholarly
critics and the wisest heads of the day, on
this side of the Atlantic. That discovery
was made, we must regretfully own, by
distinguished writer's on the other side.
The London Spectator, The Saturday Re-
view, The Edinburgh Review and other
European journals were the first to dis
cover, or OF least to proclaim, the classical
merits of the Gettysburg speech. It was
then that we began to realize that it was
indeed o masterpiece, and it then dawned
upon many minds that we had entertained
IN angel unawares who had left us unap-
preC;atod. Ward II. Lannon's Letter.